Creation, Consumption, & Curation
Creation, Consumption, & Curation
The three keys to feeding the mind, discovering meaning, and releasing potential.
Writers do not have the privilege of sleep. There is always a story coming alive in their heads, constantly composing. Whether they choose it or not.
― Jamie Weise
Casual conversations, dreams, and random thoughts often inspire me to write. It’s my path to understanding the world. A way to discover and reveal meaning. Something that I have to do or the world doesn’t feel quite right.
Photo by Trent Szmolnik on Unsplash
It’s odd to live this way today, given that my high school yearbook lists writing as something I dislike. Of course, the fact we filled out the form in a creative writing class where the teacher frequently reminded me I had no hope as a writer might have been at least partly responsible for my putting writing on the list.
The truth was at that time in my life reading and writing were my sanctuary. Books delivered stories I could consume to be transported away from teenage angst. Journaling released my thoughts and helped me sort out my feelings. Letter writing was allowed me to share my thoughts with distant friends.
Putting pen to paper or fingers to typewriter keys was a way to escape. To enter a world with no judgment, no critiques, and no need to try and make anyone else understand. It was freedom. It’s purpose whatever I chose to ascribe to it at the moment.
Fast-forwarding to the current decade of my life I realize there have always been three paths for my interaction with words…
CREATION: The private one where I write to sort things out to quiet the inner voices of doubt and despair — where I create for the sake of creating and words deliver a sense of release with no intention of anyone ever reading them.
CONSUMPTION: The public one where I devour information from various sources to fuel my need to reveal meaning from disparate insights — where words feed my brain ideas, insights, and inspiration I can use to engage with and help others.
CURATION: The one where I collect all books, articles, recordings, videos, and quotes because I need to live in the same space with them — able to access them instantly to support or contradict the meaning I think I’ve just discovered and determine whether it’s worth sharing.
My point?
I must write. It’s who I am. It’s how I navigate the world. It’s where I find meaning and understanding. It’s something I do.
For me, it is a daily mix of creation, consumption, and curation with an eye on serving in the way a Professor serves their students — stimulating their thinking, equipping them with knowledge, and encouraging them to discover their own meaning.
And that’s why I write here — because there is someone who needs to be reminded of the value and power of doing that which is wired deep within, without regard to understanding why until it is revealed through the journey.
ACTION RECOMMENDATION: If you’re one who writes, invest a few minutes today in thinking through not only why you write, but how it serves you, as well as those for whom you are writing. The discovery of the why (or whys) behind your work might be enlightening.
P.S. I need your help. If you know someone who could benefit from reading this post, would you please take a moment and share it with them either directly or via your favorite social media platform? I’d really appreciate it — we never know how what has come through us might be needed by someone who will never see it if a friend doesn't reveal it to them. Thank you!